Close Up Interview With Artist Erik Smithson

Tell us a little about yourself and what you do.

I work in a Sydney based architecture practice working on residential houses. Alongside architecture, I have started to create art bringing my experience in architecture into my art practice. I have recently celebrated five years of marriage to my wonderful wife and am a father to a beautiful two year old girl.

Where do you get your inspiration from when you draw?

Architecture, mainly modernist architecture, with materials like concrete, steel, timber to create sculptural forms. I am also interested in the styles of European comics and Japanese Ukiyo-e. Old historical visual stories pre-dating comics and manga have fascinated me. I like reading science fiction ranging from Dune by Frank Herbert to novels by Phillip K Dick. Finally, the themes of memory, time, impermanence and decay find their way into my drawings.

What are the five words that people who know you would use to describe you?

Creative, attentive to detail, driven, obsessive

Tell us about your very first job and what path have you taken since then?

My first job was at a heritage architecture practice during my last years of high school where I catalogued a collection of antique oil cans from a wonderful and passionate architect director, who later guided me into the profession. I moved into residential architecture following graduation and began working on several houses from design to construction and completion. Throughout this time, I have always been drawing and kept many sketchbooks and it has been building up to a point where I have recently started to create artworks.

As an artist, what is your biggest frustration?

My biggest frustration is my colour blindness only for the fact that paint not labelled on my palette is abandoned because I lose track of what colours were placed there! At the same time, I use colour blindness as a valuable asset as I rely less on colour and more on creating stronger values. I believe this helps me define the three dimensionality of sculptural forms.

Your advice to artist who are just starting out?

Persevere, put in hardwork and love the process, not what comes before or after.

Tell us about your up coming SCG Group art exhibition Art at ArtSHINE Gallery?

The theme of the exhibition is ‘Germinate’. It explores the process of concept art, from the first ideas swimming about your head, to putting it down to paper, to honing it down to a final work. There are a variety of exciting and talented entrants.

How did ArtSHINE Business Mentoring /coaching help you and your art practice?

After meeting Vinh after one of his outstanding presentations at the Artshine Gallery in Chippendale, I found the courage to call myself not just a designer but an artist through his guidance. As a struggling artist trying to find my feet, working with Vinh allowed me to open myself up to the world of art marking and take that plunge that I was desperately in need of. I found Vinh extremely easy to work with as he listened and talked through my concerns and threw in a bit of humor to lighten the mood. Throughout our time together he provided me with direction and armed me with strategies in how to put myself out in the artist world. Vinh supported me through my journey in developing my own style or what he refers to as my “Quirk